SATURDAY
JUNE 14
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

ABC, 12:00 p.m. ET

So far, the 2014 World Cup is two days old, and already has served up one newsworthy game per day. Thursday, it was Brazil’s all but mandatory opening-game defeat of Croatia, a game that began with an embarrassing own goal by Brazil and a very questionable call. Friday, it was a replay of the 2010 championship game, with defending champion Spain once again facing the Netherlands – but this time with the Netherlands stunning Spain, and anyone watching worldwide, with a 5-1 rout, featuring some positively brilliant individual and group play. Today, there are four games, with the first two presented on ABC: Colombia vs. Greece at noon ET, followed at 3 p.m. ET by Uruguay vs. Costa Rica. The remaining two games are televised by ESPN: the day’s most enticing match, England (pictured) vs. Italy, begins at 6 p.m. ET (somewhere, Andy Capp will be watching), followed at 9 p.m. ET by the Ivory Coast vs. Japan. Goooooooooal!!!!

 
  
 
 

NBC, 12:00 p.m. ET

Down at Pinehurst 2, German golfer Martin Kaymer is making his own kind of history. After two rounds at the U.S. Open, he’s shot 11 birdies, only one bogey, and shot back-to-back scores of 65. How good is that? Good enough for 10 under par, the lowest 36-hole score in U.S. Open history, and a comfy lead over the rest of the field. But comfy, in golf, can vanish after a few bad breaks, so there’s more reason than ever to watch Kaymer to see if his unflappable play continues, or if it becomes… flappable.

 
  
 
 

TNT, 9:00 p.m. ET

Jane Fonda, daughter of a cinematic icon, has become one herself, and this AFI tribute gives her a Life Achievement Award when her professional life is still going strong – as a regular supporting player on HBO’s The Newsroom, just to name one impressive current credit. The two-time Oscar-winner, for 1978’s Coming Home and 1971’s Klute, deserves to be remembered for many, many memorable achievements, including the deliciously sexy, and funny, Barbarella. But those of you who presume I’d pounce on this occasion as an excuse to present a steamy Jane Fonda photo from that 1968 Roger Vadim movie, shame on you. Not when I can pounce on it as an excuse to present a steamy Jane Fonda photo from another movie directed by her then-husband, Roger Vadim, the same year: Spirits of the Dead. If you’re as Fonda that bizarre cult film as I am, you’re welcome.

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET

This is the penultimate episode of Season 2, and Cosima (played by Tatiana Maslany, as are so many other characters on this show) continues to weaken. Her best hope for a recovery? It could well be Kira (Skyler Wexler), the biological daughter of Sarah, the only clone, apparently, capable of giving birth.

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 10:00 p.m. ET

This week’s new episode features Normal Heart star Mark Ruffalo, Masters of Sex star Michael Sheen, British TV personality Amanda Holden and musician Ed Sheeran. Only one of them, though, is persuaded by Norton to show off a childhood skill and ride a unicycle.

 

 
  
 
 
 
 
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3694 Comments
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.